Inkscape break apart problem

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Patriot Steel
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Inkscape break apart problem

Post by Patriot Steel »

Morning everyone,
I,m going to be making a sign from the below font that i can't identify and the customer who owns it dosen't know either, this is a screen shot and trace bit map from one of his sweatshirts which came out really nice so i did the trace and broke it apart as you can see i can't get the letters that are black in the center corrected ? Any help would be appreciated Thanks Dean
IMG_1742 (3).PNG
Screenshot (38).png
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by robertspark »

https://www.creativefabrica.com/product ... ef/166515/

https://www.whatfontis.com/CF_Lightning ... ?text=LGIC

to remove the black in the centre you need to change the object from FILL colour black to transparent, and the STROKE to black. (use the SHIFT + click on the colour bar at the bottom LHS to change the stroke and click on the colour bar to remove or change the fill colour).
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by Patriot Steel »

Thank you Robert I know somewhere along the line I have done this before but I just cannot get my head in the right direction and really appreciate the links to that particular font never saw that before either when I get this signed I’ll put some pics on again thank you
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by robertspark »

I tried to get a better conversion for you, the problem is the colours don't have much contrast so the photo / image uses antialiasing to smooth / guess the pixel colour so it doesn't make it very smooth.

The bigger letters were not a problem, the smaller ones where there was more blending was an issue.

I opened the image in GIMP and was getting rid of the background (using the magic wand or fuzzy selection tool) and then saved it as a PNG and imported into inkscape and although I got a better image.... it probably could have been better hence I did a search for the font as that would probably offer you a better finish and cleaner solution for your client (+ you can add the cost of the font onto his bill :) )

I had a go to see if I could find a solution quickly and learn something else myself.

I've not got access to lightburn on this PC (its on my other) and that could offer a better vectorizing option.
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by Patriot Steel »

Thanks so much you have been a big help i'm going to get the font and do it that way that was my first option but couldn't find it.

Thanks
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by adbuch »

Patriot Steel wrote: Tue Apr 19, 2022 6:52 am Morning everyone,
I,m going to be making a sign from the below font that i can't identify and the customer who owns it dosen't know either, this is a screen shot and trace bit map from one of his sweatshirts which came out really nice so i did the trace and broke it apart as you can see i can't get the letters that are black in the center corrected ? Any help would be appreciated Thanks Dean IMG_1742 (3).PNGScreenshot (38).png
Here is how I would do it. First open your photo with Paint.net and convert to black and white, adjust brightness/contrast, and invert colors.
David
odd logic step 1  - open with Paint.net and crop to size.jpg
odd logic step 1 - open with Paint.net and crop to size.jpg (22.86 KiB) Viewed 1234 times
odd logic step 2 - Adjust to Black and White.jpg
odd logic step 3 - Adjust Brightness-Contrast.jpg

odd logic step 4 - Invert Colors.jpg
odd logic step 5 - Save as jpeg.jpg
Last edited by adbuch on Wed Apr 20, 2022 8:20 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by adbuch »

Now import to Inkscape and Path, Trace Bitmap and save as dxf and/or svg.
odd logic step 6 - Import to Inkscape and Path, Trace Bitmap.jpg
odd logic step 6 - Import to Inkscape and Path, Trace Bitmap 1.jpg
odd logic step 6 - Import to Inkscape and Path, Trace Bitmap 2.jpg
odd logic step 6 - Save as dxf.jpg
odd logic step 6 - Save as svg.jpg
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by adbuch »

odd logic step 7 - Final Version linked-joined.jpg

odd logic final version.dxf
(174.23 KiB) Downloaded 38 times
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by adbuch »

If you are doing a negative version, then here is an example with the letters stenciled so the centers don't fall out when cut.
I did the stenciling with Design Edge, but this can be accomplished with Inkscape as well.
David
odd logic final version stencil.dxf image.jpg
odd logic final version stencil.dxf image.jpg (55.02 KiB) Viewed 1233 times
odd logic final version stencil.dxf
(174.21 KiB) Downloaded 45 times
adbuch
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by adbuch »

Patriot Steel wrote: Tue Apr 19, 2022 6:52 am Morning everyone,
I,m going to be making a sign from the below font that i can't identify and the customer who owns it dosen't know either, this is a screen shot and trace bit map from one of his sweatshirts which came out really nice so i did the trace and broke it apart as you can see i can't get the letters that are black in the center corrected ? Any help would be appreciated Thanks Dean IMG_1742 (3).PNGScreenshot (38).png
Dean - is there a particular reason that you broke it apart? Perhaps to change the spacing between the letters or stencil individual letters? Here is how I would do it.
Odd Logic Break Apart 1.jpg
Odd Logic Break Apart 2.jpg
Odd Logic Combine individual letters 1.jpg
Odd Logic Combine individual letters 2.jpg
Odd Logic Stencil Letters 1.jpg
Odd Logic Stencil Letters 2.jpg
Odd Logic Stencil Letters 3.jpg
Odd Logic Stencil Letters 4.jpg
Odd Logic Stencil Letters 5.jpg
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by adbuch »

Odd Logic Stencil Letters 6.jpg
Odd Logic Stencil Letters 7.jpg
Odd Logic Stencil Letters 8.jpg
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by adbuch »

Odd Logic stenciled with Inkscape.dxf image.jpg
Odd Logic stenciled with Inkscape.dxf negative.jpg
Odd Logic stenciled with Inkscape.dxf negative.jpg (59.73 KiB) Viewed 1232 times
Odd Logic stenciled with Inkscape.dxf
(175.04 KiB) Downloaded 41 times
adbuch
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by adbuch »

By the way, files saved as dxf from Inkscape will generally have many, many intersections. For some this is not a problem, but
I have seen situations in the past where these have created problems with Sheetcam and other cam programs.

For those who don't have access to Design Edge, then you can use LightBurn to accomplish the same thing. Simply import either dxf or svg saved from Inkscape, and then export from LightBurn as dxf. The file will be automatically linked/joined to eliminate unwanted intersections.

David
Lots of intersections.jpg
Lots of intersections - now gone.jpg
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by adbuch »

robertspark wrote: Tue Apr 19, 2022 11:22 am I tried to get a better conversion for you, the problem is the colours don't have much contrast so the photo / image uses antialiasing to smooth / guess the pixel colour so it doesn't make it very smooth.

The bigger letters were not a problem, the smaller ones where there was more blending was an issue.

I opened the image in GIMP and was getting rid of the background (using the magic wand or fuzzy selection tool) and then saved it as a PNG and imported into inkscape and although I got a better image.... it probably could have been better hence I did a search for the font as that would probably offer you a better finish and cleaner solution for your client (+ you can add the cost of the font onto his bill :) )

I had a go to see if I could find a solution quickly and learn something else myself.

I've not got access to lightburn on this PC (its on my other) and that could offer a better vectorizing option.
It has been my personal experience that Inkscape is superior to LightBurn as far as auto tracing goes. In fact, Inkscape is my "go-to" for auto trace, followed by Design Edge and then perhaps VinylMaster, ProtoMax, LightBurn, and CorelDraw. LightBurn can do some nice traces, but I find that sometimes the resulting dxf won't open with Design Edge or some of my other programs. File can be exported from LightBurn as svg and then opened with Inkscape to export as dxf - but that sort of defeats the purpose and I may as well have used Inkscape to begin with.

David

By the way, ProtoMax is a free download.
odd logic from PM image.jpg
odd logic from VM image.jpg
odd logic from LB image.jpg
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by robertspark »

adbuch wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 12:44 am
It has been my personal experience that Inkscape is superior to LightBurn as far as auto tracing goes....
inkscape should be more superior as it's a dedicated graphics application.

you have a lot of spare time to master and review all of those applications. I just dabble as I'm too busy with other things but I thought I'd give it ten minutes and see if I could convert the logo
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by adbuch »

robertspark wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 2:43 am
adbuch wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 12:44 am
It has been my personal experience that Inkscape is superior to LightBurn as far as auto tracing goes....
inkscape should be more superior as it's a dedicated graphics application.

you have a lot of spare time to master and review all of those applications. I just dabble as I'm too busy with other things but I thought I'd give it ten minutes and see if I could convert the logo
The conversion only took a few minutes. Very simple - Paint.net to Inkscape to dxf. I spent the "spare time" documenting the process to try to help out Dean. I basically "dabble" as well, as the majority of my time is consumed running my business (plus my many other interests) which really has nothing to do at all with cnc plasma cutting. But - most of these programs are really pretty simple to use and most operate along the same basic principles. It's not "rocket science". Once one becomes familiar with one CAD or CAD/CAM program - the rest of them are very easy to pick up and generally work the same way.
David
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by TJS »

This is an awsome post David. People should save this link. I am working on a logo right now trying to extract it from a sticker the customer has. I might have to use the Paint.net process as well. I do see a lot of nodes in there David. They can be cleaned up in Inkscape as well using Path => simplify.
Again. Great post.
T.J.
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by adbuch »

TJS wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 8:17 am This is an awsome post David. People should save this link. I am working on a logo right now trying to extract it from a sticker the customer has. I might have to use the Paint.net process as well. I do see a lot of nodes in there David. They can be cleaned up in Inkscape as well using Path => simplify.
Again. Great post.
T.J.
Hi TJ - thanks for your kind words! You need to be careful using the Path, Simplify tool as this can change the shape of the curves and does not eliminate all intersections. Link/join is a different operation than Path, Simplify and is not available in Inkscape. And node count is different than intersection count. Two entirely different things.
David

PS - if you wish to share your logo sticker we can have a look to see what the best way might be to proceed.
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by TJS »

I have used Path simplify and it does clean the nodes up. However to an extent, yes sometimes it will change the shape but most of the time it works for me. This is when I receive a file where there are nodes stacked upon nodes. This is time saver instead of clicking on the nodes over nodes and deleting them one by one.
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by acourtjester »

Here is a video I made last year that shows how to manipulate nodes and work with tracing a item to clean it up.
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by adbuch »

TJS wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 9:00 am I have used Path simplify and it does clean the nodes up. However to an extent, yes sometimes it will change the shape but most of the time it works for me. This is when I receive a file where there are nodes stacked upon nodes. This is time saver instead of clicking on the nodes over nodes and deleting them one by one.
:Like :Like :Like
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by adbuch »

acourtjester wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 3:13 pm Here is a video I made last year that shows how to manipulate nodes and work with tracing a item to clean it up.
Thanks for another great video Tom! That looks very familiar - seems like I worked on the same file for the OP.
David
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by adbuch »

Yup! I thought that looked familiar.
David
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by acourtjester »

Thanks :Like :Like Yes sir the date on the Google drive says Oct 2021
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Re: Inkscape break apart problem

Post by adbuch »

TJS wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 9:00 am I have used Path simplify and it does clean the nodes up. However to an extent, yes sometimes it will change the shape but most of the time it works for me. This is when I receive a file where there are nodes stacked upon nodes. This is time saver instead of clicking on the nodes over nodes and deleting them one by one.
By the way, that's a great tip for eliminating nodes when stacked on top of each other. Much easier than doing it individually.
David
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